One of the many car accessories that can turn your beloved sports car or truck into a real eye-catcher is a high-quality license plate frame. While license plates are a necessary evil, a blight on an otherwise beautiful machine, an attractive frame can enhance the appeal and further accentuate the car’s premium appearance. Many people stick to plastic novelty frames with wacky slogans on them, but for high-end cars like Corvettes and Chargers, something better is needed.

Product Information

American Car Craft makes and sells many high-quality car products that are officially licensed by OEMs like General Motors. They offer everything from engine covers to rail covers, smartphone cases, vent trim, door guards, emblems, and posters. If any inch of your car—from the side mirrors to the cup holders—can be covered in chrome, American Car Craft sells something for it.

All their award-winning products are USA-made and utilize a polished finish stainless steel wax (Meta Glaze).

When it comes to license plate frames, there are two-dozen options, including model-specific lettering like “Camaro” to general terms like “Diesel Life.” Each one comes in a variety of letter color options like blue carbon fiber, HEMI orange solid, brushed black, MOPAR blue solid, synergy green solid, and over a dozen more. There are even light-up LED-equipped frames.

For this review, I received a stainless steel plate with the word “Supercharged” in red carbon fiber lettering.

Product Packaging/Quality

According to the box I received, the ACC license plate frame kit I received should contain:

1 stainless steel/carbon fiber license plate frame

Two #12 x 1.5″ Phillips pan head screws

Two white sockets

Two large chrome screw covers

When I opened the box, the license plate frame and the covers were present, but the white sockets were absent and the pan-head screws were replaced with flat-tipped, hex-head screws.

The box itself was even impressive; it’s sleeve-case cardboard packaging not only protects the product from damage but displays it appealingly. The screw caps are adhered to the frame for display purposes using an adhesive that didn’t peel off easily but came loose when scrubbed clean.

The frame itself was gorgeous; that chrome sheen really pops. The layered steel construction make it thicker than most single-layer products and thus very stiff. It only showed minimal scratching after abrasion on the concrete. The lettering was centered and I liked the font choice. The letters aren’t printed on but rather cut out of the metal so it won’t wear away.

Instructions & Learning to Use Product

Instructions for installation are on back of the box in two languages–English and Spanish–and cover multiple types of license plate frames, such as the LED-equipped units. There are four basic steps for installing a non-LED frame, which is overall self-explanatory. If you’ve installed a license plate frame before, this is no different.

I did notice that there was a typo in the direction in the middle of Step 1, where some Spanish text appeared in the middle of the English sentence.

Overall Assessment: Does It Do What It Claims?

After removing my car’s current frame (an old college alumni banner), I placed the metal license plate into the American Car Craft frame–and it fit perfectly. Other products have left gaps between the frame and the edge of the plate, whereas this one fit like a glove and didn’t wiggle around. That’s especially important when you’re driving at high speeds and the wind is whipping it.

The holes on the frame and the license plate aligned nearly perfectly–well enough to slide the screws through. Since the previous holes securing the license plate to my car’s bumper were made by cone-shaped screw points that drilled into the plastic, the holes were not big enough for the wide, flat-point screws. I had to drill bigger holes and use bolts; other cars have pre-formed holes for attaching license plates, so that will depend upon your car.

The plastic caps that cover the screw heads were too small to fit on the hexagonal heads, and I had to mallet them on.

I would strongly recommend using the license plate frame for the rear plate for the reasons that 1) if you use the frame on the front license plate of your car, it will cover up the registration sticker and 2) if your car’s front bumper curves at a drastic angle, the frame is stiff enough to stick out.

While I did have some issues when installing the license plate frame, I eventually secured it so that it didn’t wiggle while driving or fall off. Undeniably, the product itself is well-made and lives up to the designation “premium.” It’s a much better, more attractive investment than plastic novelty frames that are half the price. If the same level of craftsmanship and quality is put into ACC’s other products, I’m sure they’re a worthy investment.

Aaron is unashamed to be a native Clevelander and the proud driver of a 1995 Saturn SC-2 (knock on wood). He gleefully utilizes his background in theater, literature, and communication to dramatically recite his own articles to nearby youth. Mr. Widmar happily resides in Dayton, Ohio with his magnificent wife, Vicki, but is often on the road with her exploring new destinations. Aaron has high aspirations for his writing career but often gets distracted pondering the profound nature of the human condition and forgets what he was writing... See more articles by Aaron.